Building Bridges in the Bayview

When The Rev. Nina Pickerrell moved into the house her grandparents had purchased in the 1950’s, she began making big changes. She cleaned up the yard and replanted the vegetable garden to give the neighborhood children a safe place to play. She cleared the clutter from the garage in order to set up a food pantry that now serves 67 families every Monday. She tidied up the old garden room in the basement to house a children’s library that includes over 2000 books. The next project is the renovation of the barn. It’s the future location of the worship space for The Bayview Mission, a ministry of Grace Cathedral that is supported by The Episcopal Diocese of California and nearby parish St. Gregory of Nyssa.

Within a few years, The Rev. Pickerrell has transformed her family home into an outreach center in one of the most marginalized neighborhoods in San Francisco. The combination of gang activity, unemployment, drug-related crime, and industrial waste have been slowly grinding away at the residents of a once prosperous Bayview-Hunters Point.

The Rev. Pickerrell says the hardest thing for her to understand, at first, was that she needed to gain the trust of her neighbors. "I tried to do this seven years ago, and failed. Failed miserably. I had wanted to create a day-care center, and I didn’t connect to the people in the neighborhood. I just moved in and tried to set up shop, and there were robberies–two break-ins, and they stole children’s toys, furniture, and clothing. So I walked away from the house and any idea of doing something in that house."

Now, she says, her relationship to the people in her community is different because her intention is different. "Before, I came in thinking I was going to do something for them. This time I went in slowly, hiring homeless men from the neighborhood to help with the initial clean-up of the house. I made improvements, and showed pride in the home. And then I planted the pumpkin patch."

Children came from the surrounding blocks to pick out their very own pumpkin. This was anything but trivial for the children of Bayview. "These are children for whom traveling off their block can mean crossing gang territory. This was the first time any of them had ever had a pumpkin for Halloween. These are children who do not know that there is enough paper for them to draw on, or colored pencils, or crayons. For these kids, there is never enough. And this pumpkin patch is just for them."

For children growing up under a dark cloud of lack and despair, the rainbow inside the Crayola box is deeply meaningful. The impact of the Bayview Mission’s food pantry, community garden, and free library may be in the bringing of hope and abundance to those who have only known want and isolation. Wanting to connect the Grace Cathedral community with that of Bayview-Hunters Point, The Rev. Pickerrell has plans. "We tried to bring kids from the Mission and other minority parishes to Vacation Bible School at Grace Cathedral," she says, "and we got no response. But because of our work in Bayview this past year, there’s trust in the community. So this year, we’re going to have our very own summer camp at Bayview Mission where Grace Cathedral kids are going to come to Bayview and play at Bayview Mission with our kids here. And it’ll be so important to have that exchange. Cathedral kids who have already volunteered at Bayview Mission have had great experiences. It’s going to be a very exciting summer."

To find out how you can get involved with Bayview Mission, email The Rev. Nina Pickerrell at ninap@gracecathedral.org